Media, local young guns to square off against NASCAR drivers

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Media, local young guns to square off against NASCAR drivers

Thursday night, Las Vegas will find out if its local media can do more than talk a good game. In the first race of its kind, local media members and some of the area¿s hot shoes will square off in a 25-lap go-kart race against some of the biggest stars of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The event, which will begin at 7 p.m. at the FastLapIndoorKartingCenter on Polaris Avenue, will consist of five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers, two announcers from Speed Channel, four Las Vegas area media members and two local racers.

Headlining the list of NASCAR drivers is current series points leader and Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan. He will be joined by two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie, former NASCAR Winston Cup driver Shawna Robinson, defending Las Vegas 350 champion David Starr and west coast driver Ricky Bogart.

The media contingent will be led by Speed Channel host Rick Allen and pit reporter Ray Dunlap. The local media group will include KTNV morning news anchor Ron Futrell, KLAS sports anchor Chris Maathuis, KVBC sports anchor Rick Strasser and ESPN radio personality John Hanson.

The three wild cards in the field will be Spencer Clark, the 16-year old Super Late Model rookie of the year at the Bullring, 13-year old Alex Haase, who captured the Legends Car championship in the Semi-Pro division at the Bullring and Late Model rookie of the year Travis Swalwell.

The go-kart event will kick off Las Vegas Motor Speedway¿s Las Vegas 350 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Weekend. Qualifying for the Las Vegas 350 is scheduled for noon on Saturday, a driver autograph session will be held in the speedway¿s midway area from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and the race is scheduled for 7 p.m.